At the edge of the world
by Artisticflower
Summary: After a horrific world changing disaster, Michael and Lindsay gather what is left if their friends and co-workers and try to survive. Only weeks after this catastrophe, many of the survivors start showing signs of a strange illness, and it threatens the surviving members of the rooster teeth crew
1. Strange new beginnings

Michael woke with a groan, his hazy vision slowly returning to him. He saw a sliver of light in the darkness around him, and with his blushed vision, pushed the debris off his beaten and bruised body. He looked at the world falling apart around him as he recollected his thoughts. He reached for his glasses to adjust them, hearing a light crunch under his foot. Dammit. He lifted his foot, and picked up the shattered frames, putting them on his face. Well, broken is better than nothing.

Suddenly he was hit with a pang of realization. "LINDSAY!" He shouted as he clamored up the rubble, beginning to look through the destroyed building around him for his wife. He pulled away brick after brick. Nothing.

"Lindsay!? Lindsay where are you!?" He shouted in a panicked voice, when he heard a distant cough and sputter. He rushed over and struggled to pull away a large piece of wood be believed used to be a coffee table, to reveal the redhead, alive. He sighed in relief, and helped her out from under the heavy pile of concrete and glass. "Lindsay, are you all right?" He asked her, clearly concerned about her state. God knows what hit her, or how long they were under all this stuff.

"I'm….. I'm fine…." she replied him, coughing and sputtering, a few drops of blood leaving her mouth, a distressing sight to Michael.

"Here, lets go find the others," he told her, as he wrapped her arm around his shoulder and walked her down what used to be their apartment, and whispered under his breath, "I sure hope they're all right…."

The two wandered around the shell of Austin looking for their co-workers for hours. What were tall building, became barely the height of homes. Familiar landmarks reduced to dust at their feet. Their beloved home of Austin had turned into a wasteland. It appeared they weren't the only survivors, as they saw handfuls of people walking around, looking through the chaos for loved ones and friends. Just as they were.

After what seemed like forever, rounding out to 4 days, and only finding 6 others, they decided it was time to stop. The group was small, but they had each other. Many other citizens did as they did, grouping with family, friends, even complete strangers, if just for safety.

Their group was a random assortment of friends, comprised of Michael, Lindsay, Gavin, Ryan, Caleb, Burnie, Blaine and Barbara. Many of them spent most days mourning the loss of loved ones, but often they would leave the campsite they set up to find food or medicine. It was usually Blaine, Burnie, Ryan or Michael went out to hunt or scavenge food, while the others would search for supplies or watch camp, often defending their belonging from "scavengers" - as they had begun to call those who would loot from other campsites and bring them to their own. They did that on occasion, but only to camps they were positive were abandoned. You only make enemies in a dystopia when you're a dick.

None of them could ever really recollect what happened, or why they were put in that position, but things were changing for them and fast. At some point, members started to feel a strange presence around them, and it was going to be a big problem, they would soon learn. As doctors began to become sparse, every medical personnel was like a gift from god. However, there seemed to only be a few, maybe one or two, left in the shell of a city, posing as a problem for everyone. First aid kits and other items began to be stolen along with food and other necessities.

Later, as the group gathered around a makeshift fire in a divot of the rubble, Michael looked over to Lindsay to ask her something, only to see her collapsed on the ground, not moving or responding. It began to look like she wasn't breathing.

"...Lindsay?" He assumed she was asleep, and that simply calling her name would wake her up. It did not. He scrambled up off the piece of rubble and clambered over to his wife. "Lindsey you all right?" He asked her, shaking her shoulder lightly. She did not respond. Michael's face drained of all life, as it was replaced with a look of fear and worry. "Lindsay?!" He grabbed her shoulders and began to act hysterical, shaking her pale, limp body back and forth.

"Michael! Stop it!" Burnie yelled, pulling him away. "Ryan, go get the first aid kit! Now!"


	2. Things are changing

2 month pass before Lindsay recovers, her cause unknown, but believed to be some spores they found by the campsite. They were removed and that was that, but Michael was just glad she was fine. In fact, he stayed by her side through her whole recovery, which forced others to work more with Michael tending to her, putting all the other members on double time trying to find and retrieve supplies and food for the group.

Caleb, however, was not so cooperative. At times, he would refuse to leave his makeshift bed for days. It was proving harder for him to get over the death of his brother, Jordan. Along with his distress, his state of person had slowly begun to change. He became paler each day, and left camp less and less; he hardly ate, and hardly drank, and he refused to talk to the other party members, accept for the occasional grumble or sigh. Until one night Burnie finally addressed the problem.

"Hey, Caleb's not looking so hot, huh?" He said to Ryan in a hushed tone, looking at the small man in his baseball cap as he just picked at his food, the whole group gathered around a small fire in the middle of their camp site.

"Yeah, I think he might be sick." He replied, not taking his eyes off the fire. "And I don't think we have enough medicine to have anyone else get sick." He sighed. "This couldn't have happened at a worse time."

"I have to agree. I know that Lindsay is healthy again, but things are only getting worse. The doctors are over overwhelmed and medication is running low. We should hind him help soon."

"Yeah, but where the hell would we hind that, Burnie?"

Just then, Barbara walked up to the group gathered around the fire, a sack of supplies on her back. "Pack up everybody, we're leaving."

"Wait, what? Why?" Gavin squawked. "What's wrong with what we got here?"

"Its not safe." Barbara stated, "And just look at Caleb! He's sicker than a dog near death." She gestured to Caleb, who had moved from lying on the ground, to throwing up behind an old news paper box. "We need to find help and a safer place to camp out.

"She's right." Blaine agreed, setting his food down next to him. "Food and medicine is getting sparse and so are the people. It's the smartest decision right now."

"Hold the fucking phone. Who put you in charge?" Michael replied to Barbara, standing quickly. "If anyone should be in charge it's me! If it weren't for me you'd all probably have died!"

"Like hell I would have!"

"Then why are you still here, huh?!"

"You took me in, and I've known you for years. What else was supposed to do?"

"Said no! You could have said no! If you could have survived on your own, then why didn't you!"

"BECAUSE YOU ASSHOLES ARE ALL I HAVE LEFT!" She yelled back, as the group fell silent. Barbara had let tears slip through. When she felt a hand rest on her shoulder, she looked up to meet Ryan's face.

"Barb, we've all lost loved ones. Burnie lost Ashley, Gavin lost Meg, you and Blaine lost Aaron, Caleb lost his brother, I lost my wife and children, and Michael lost some of his best friends and his brother. We are all lucky to even be alive, and to have each other in this time." He said, trying to console her. Don't know why he would try to console her with reminders of death, but hey, what can a guy do.

Michael looked at member of the party for a brief moment before leaving and going into his tent, calling behind him "Fine! Go ahead! Make all the decisions without me!" Ryan sighed and followed suit a moment later. He folded his arms at the door, watching Michael rummage through his things, grumbling curses under his breath.

"She is right Michael."

"I don't give a shit if she's right. I'm the leader. Not little miss Barbara Punkleman. When the hell did she start acting serious anyway? It's not even like her." He rambled as he continued to rummage though the backpack next to his bed.

"I don't know, but now is not the time to argue about who's in charge or not. It doesn't matter anyway, but right now, it's in our best interest to head out. We've been here too long. If we leave, maybe we can find a doctor for Caleb, see if he can get healthy."

"... Fine. We leave at dawn." He said, clearly disheartened by this decision. "You can go tell the others. I'm going to bed."

"Everyone get up!" Frantic yelling is was woke up the gang early that morning, around 2 AM. It was Blaine, and he was clearly distressed. The group exited their respective tents and rubbed the sleep out their eye, grumbling as they do so.

"Ugh, what is it now Blaine?" Burnie asked, frustrated with the early wake up call.

"It's Caleb- He's gone."


	3. Retied connections

"Gone?! What do you mean he's gone?!" Michael yelled at Blaine in the foggy summer morning.

"I mean I woke up, and he wasn't there! Or anywhere else near the camp!"

"When did this happen?" Burnie demanded calmly.

"Just now, but we should hurry up if we want to find him." Blaine answered

"All right, everyone grab your stuff, and lets head out. Blaine, you grab Caleb's bag."

They grab their bags, having to leave their tents in the hustle, before heading out in different directions looking for their lost party member. They were split into three different groups: Gavin and Burnie, Ryan and Lindsay, and Michael Barbara and Blaine. Each of them looked for hours through the chaos of what once was their town of Austin.

Fallen down skyscrapers and business firms littered the street, making their endeavor much slower. Apartments and town-homes were obliterated, the people who used to live in them most likely dead. The empty shell of the hospital was a sad sight, but the only place they managed to find any type of medication or first aid. The saddest sight to see however, suddenly came in to Burnie's line of sight: the destroyed Rooster Teeth office.

_"The military is urging everyone to stay inside. Get to low ground, or a concrete bunker if available. Find any way to protect yourself. We are not sure at this time if these threats are serious, the military is currently handling the situation, however, they still ask that you take any and all safety precautions at this time. "_

_ Burnie sighed, clicking off the TV, and turning to Ashley. "Can you believe this? They treat it like it's the end of the world. Unbelievable…"_

_ "I don't know, this does seem a little frightening, don't you think?" _

_"Well of course, but that doesn't make it anymore strange."_

_ "I don't know, maybe we shouldn't be so-" before Ashley could finish her sentence, there was a large boom from outside that rattled the whole house. _

_Burnie looked outside in horror before turning to Ashley, his face stricken with a mixture of grief and fear. "Go, get outside! I'll grab the boys! GO!" He yelled before rushing upstairs and grabbing his sons. Suddenly, another boom was heard. No, no, it can't… he thought to himself, No….. "Ok boys, I know right now seems scary but we have to leave, ok?" _

_He carried his sons down the stairs and outside, looping around to a door that lead to the cellar. On his path he was met with his worst fear; a crater the size of a bus right outside his door and no sign of ashley. _

_Across town, Gavin sat in the rubble of his home, holding tight to the unmoving corpse of his girlfriend, Meg. He doesn't say a word, he just… holds on._

"...nie? Burnie? Fuckin' hell man, you there?" Gavin's voice interrupted his thoughts.

"huh?"

"Jesus man! You just went god damn quiet and stared off into bloody space."

"oh. Fuck, sorry Gavin, I guess I just got a little distracted." He responded solemnly. "I just…" He stopped again.

"What is it now?"

Burnie put his hand up to silence the brit.

"Burnie, what-"

"Seriously Gavin, shut the fuck up!" He commanded, walking toward the destroyed Rooster Teeth building, seeing something he didn't before. He saw something moving. "What the- Oh my god." He grabbed a walkie-talkie out of his back pocket, pressing the button and speaking into it. "Barb, I think we found something."

A voice was heard over the radio static. "What is it?"

"Just come and see for yourself."

A sigh is heard over the radio. "Fine."

About 20 minutes later, the whole group is gathered by the rubble of the old building. It was heart wrenching for the group to see what once was their life, their well being, their happiness.

"All right Burnie, what is it?" Michael asked impatiently.

He said not a word, just pointed to a dark figure that stood in the debris, a hood over his head, and what appeared to be someone wearing a baseball cap.

"Is that.."

"Yes."

"That's all I needed to hear." Ryan said, as he walked through the destroyed parking lot

towards the figure. "Hey! Why are you here?" He called out to the figure.

The man turned to him briefly, his eyes are covered by the hood of this jacket, leaving Ryan to see only a bushy, surprisingly well kept beard. After that brief moment, he hauled Caleb over his shoulder and ran off.

"Don't let him get away!" Burnie yelled. At his word, Burnie Ryan and Blaine starting chasing after this bearded mysterious figure, the others looping around different ways in a hope to cut him off. "Drop him!" Burnie hollered at him as he ran after him, Ryan and Blaine begin to pull ahead, Blaine having given Lindsay Caleb's bag.

Blaine gave Ryan a look, and got a nod in return. Running up close, Blaine wrapped his arms around Caleb's midsection and halting, and pulled hard, as he pried the smaller man away from the mysterious figure. In the next moment, as Caleb was removed from his back, Blaine stumbling down, Ryan came from the side and tackled the man to the ground, rolling for a few moments before they screeched to a halt on the hard asphalt. He pinned him to the ground, as Burnie walked up and stared down to him, disdain in his face. Around the edges of the destroyed lot, the members stopped and stared at the scene from a distance.

"Who are you and why did you take him?" Burnie demanded, pointing to Caleb, who has laying on top on Blaine on the ground like a ragdoll.

"Fuck man, I don't know…" His voice was slightly higher pitched than the average man's, breaking at points, which made it sound like he had never reached puberty."He looked like someone I know and-"

"So you decided to take him from our camp?"

"No no, he-"

"He what?"

"He- he was stumbling and I found him and-"

"I've heard enough. Ryan?" Ryan raised his fist, aimed straight for the man's jaw, and swung down hard.

"Wait, Ryan…?" He speaks under his breath, his mind finally making the connection. "RYAN, WAIT!" The man yells as he is hit in the jaw. The impact makes a cracking sound as his head whips to the side. "Aw, dicks dude, what the fuck! You didn't even let me finish speaking!"

Ryan and Burnie's expressions change to that of shock and surprise, finally recognizing the familiar voice.

_"Geoff?"_


End file.
